| Fitch Ratings reduced its forecast for a further decline in U.S. home prices to 9.1% on Monday from 13.1% last quarter, indicating a better outlook for a rating firms whose assessments are crucial to issuers of mortgage-backed securities.
Fitch's model is used in developing required levels of credit enhancement, a form of protection, for senior investors in private residential mortgage-backed securities. The market has been mostly shuttered since mid-2008, however, as investor confidence has been slow to return and because requirements of high credit enhancement have limited the profits available to issuers...............................................Full Article: Source
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